India vs England 1st ODI predicted XIs: Tussle between KL Rahul & Rishabh Pant; will Varun Chakaravarthy make debut?

Making the combinations right will be India’s prime focus in the three-match ODI series against England, the first of which starts on Thursday (February 6) in Nagpur. The Men in Blue are coming after beating England 4-1 in an highly entertaining T20I series. The ODI series will mark a return of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, who were not in T20Is.

The ODI series against England will serve as India’s only tune-up tournament ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, to be held in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19. Incidentally, India have played just three ODIs in 2024 in July-August.

With just three opportunities in hand, the Indian think-tank will be addressing the areas that needs mending before the mega ICC event.

Focus on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma

The focus will be on both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have endured a tough form since the ODI World Cup in 2023. In fact, the duo was India’s top run-getters in the World Cup. While Virat Kohli went home with the Player of the Series award with 765 runs, Rohit Sharma smashed 597 runs besides leading India to the final.

However, since then, the batting stalwarts have been a huge flop at the top level and will take ICC Champions Trophy as a platform to shut down all the critics. Vice-captain Shubman Gill will be opening the batting for India with Virat Kohli coming at No.3.

KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant

With the top order sorted, the middle-order also looks set with except one position. Shreyas Iyer, who has performed superbly for Mumbai in domestic cricket, comes at No.4 while Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja make their own way into the XI as the two all-rounders.

The major fight will be between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeper’s slot. The Karnataka batter has been Mr. Dependable in the Indian middle-order during the 2023 ODI World Cup, besides managing the wicketkeeping duties with precision.

The return of Rishabh Pant has complicated things as the Delhi star offers a left-hander variety in a right-hand dominated Indian batting line-up. If at all India want both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, they will have to sacrifice Shreyas Iyer.

Mohammed Shami boost for India

With no Jasprit Bumrah in the series, comeback man Mohammed Shami will lead the Indian bowling attack with Arshdeep Singh in company. Hardik Pandya adds up to the third seamer’s role. Among the spinners, Ravindra Jadeja will lead the pack with Kuldeep Yadav likely to return a long injury layoff.

India could also hand Varun Chakaravarthy his ODI debut after the Tamil Nadu star bamboozled the likes of Bangladesh, South Africa and England with his art. India also have the likes of Axar Patel and Washington Sundar and it will be interesting to see how India stack up.

IND vs ENG 1st ODI predicted playing XI

India: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul/Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar/Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

England : Ben Duckett, Phil Salt (WK), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (C), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overston, Brydon Carse,Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.